Kiss the Cook
by The Dame of Lame
Summary: Again, I have reworked this fiction. It's a SHORT, fluffy Shin/Asuka story. My only request is that, if you review, which I do NOT ask of you, you be kind when doing so. Thank you.


Pairings: Shin/Asuka  
Warnings: ...None really, unless you consider a little fluff to be lethal.  
Comments: Alright, I've reworked it, AGAIN! Nothing I do makes you people happy. HOPEFULLY you won't be as cruel this time. I tried lengthening some of the descriptions and I added more spaces. You people are so lucky I cater to your every whim when it comes to my Evangelion fictions.

Shinji Ikari, decked out in a baggy white T-shirt, wrinkled blue jeans and a messy apron with "KISS THE COOK" in pink letters printed on it, stood in the kitchen of the apartment he shared with Asuka Langely Soryu and Misato Katsuragi. He was, of course, alone. It was December 4th and Hikari Horaki, Asuka's best friend, had taken the flame-headed German maiden shopping as a birthday gift. Misato, their somewhat childish mediator, had left at the beginning of the month on a vacation to celebrate her own birthday on the 8th. She wouldn't return until January.

A timer 'dinged' and Shinji moved swiftly to the oven. He snatched the oven mitts off the counter and opened the oven's door. He carefully extracted a large cake from the white-hot appliance and set it on the table. He then turned the dials off and left the door cracked ever so slightly as to let the device cool down.

He smiled at his creation and set to work on decorating the soon-to-be masterpiece.

Meanwhile, Hikari dragged Asuka all around the busy town, arms full of shopping bags from multiple clothing stores. The two had been shopping all morning with Asuka's birthday money that she had received from a drunken Misato the day before the woman left.

"Oh, Asuka! Look at this top!" Hikari exclaimed. Asuka snuck a peek at her digital watch. 12:47. 13 minutes left of this cloth torment, then she could go home and rest. She'd been on her feet this whole time. Hikari wouldn't let her sit down, not even once. Asuka dragged herself over to the window where the shirt was and faked happy.

"Oh, it's beautiful!" she said with mock excitement.

"Isn't it? Let's get it. I wanna see how it looks on me." With that, Hikari ran into the store, Asuka drag-assing behind her.

Honestly, this was it. Asuka couldn't stand much more. She'd been looking at Hikari try on clothes from halter tops to bell-bottom jeans since 9:30 this morning. While the brunette was in the dressing room, the birthday girl moved the time on her watch up to 12:59. Alarm set to go off at 1:00. Hikari came out with the beige, sleeveless shirt on, smiling. She walked up to Asuka and twirled.

"Does it look good?" she asked.

"Yeah, it looks—" Asuka's sentence was cut-off by the annoying, high-pitched digital alarm. "Oh, no. Where has the time gone? I have to get back to the apartment, Shinji's waiting on me."

Hikari was left staring rather perplexed at a cloud of dust as Asuka high-tailed it home.

The Second Child walked in the apartment and dropped her bags on the ground, just out of the swing of the door so she could close it. Shinji heard her come in and finished up his baking project, quickly tidying the kitchen and accidentily dropping pans on his feet.

"A-Asuka? Could you come here for a second?" The girl sighed and moved towards Café a la Shinji with less than cheetah-like speed.

"What, you forgot how to make yourself a sandwich? Can't you figure out how to do anything while I'm gone? I swear!" she shouted, stopping in the doorway and sighing heavily.

Shinji stood in front of the table, hands at his sides, apron in place. Asuka simply stared. The next sentence out of her mouth was going to be a jab at his sexuality for wearing that apron, but he interrupted her.

"C-could you come closer?" He was nervous and fidgeting with the hem of the apron. She shrugged. Why not? This was a good opportunity to get in his face about it. She moved forwards until she was a foot front the Third Child, a wicked smile on her face.

"You know," Asuka began, "that apron makes you look…" Her voice faded away as Shinji stepped aside to reveal a German Chocolate cake with the words 'Happy Birthday Asuka' in red icing. 15 candles sat atop the cake, the wicks already lit. The girl simply stared.

"Do you like it?" Shinji asked. Asuka's eyes turned to him. The apron had icing, flour, and egg smeared on it, and the boy's brown hair had batter in it. By the looks of all the paper towels in the trash can, it seemed as though he'd been clumsy and tripped a good couple of times, bringing the ingredients and an almost completed cake with him. The boy was an absolute mess, and yet, at that precise moment, he was the most handsome thing Asuka had ever seen.

"Shinji?"

"Y-yes?"

"Thank you."

"It was no problem, really." His face told a different story, which bright eyes and an accomplished smile on his ingredient-covered face. Asuka smiled at him.

"If you tell anyone about this, I'll have to kill you." Shinji blinked stupidly, confused.

"Uh, about what?" Asuka leaned forward and softly pressed her lips against Shinji's, her eyes closed as she secretly savored his taste and enjoyed the kiss. The boy's face turned an almost unimaginable bright red and his eyes grew wide. She pulled her face away from his and hugged him.

"Oh, about that…" Shinji mumbled.

"Ah…Shinji?"

"Yeah?"

"Your gay apron's on fire."

"WHAT?!" Asuka moved away from him and pointed at the back of the apron, aflame from the candles.

"Try lighting the candles _after_ I thank you next time," Asuka said. However, Shinji dropping to the ground like dead weight and rolling on the floor drowned her suggestion out. Asuka smiled and side-steppe Shinji, blowing out her birthday candles.

"Happy birthday to me."


End file.
